


Everywhere I look I catch a glimpse of you

by modernVictoria



Series: Quakerider [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Framework, Hopeful Ending, post 4x15
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-03-08
Packaged: 2018-10-01 06:29:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10182938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/modernVictoria/pseuds/modernVictoria
Summary: Robbie finds himself in the Framework. Faces he knows, don't recognise him. Until one does.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really bad at titles and summaries as you may have noticed. Anyway, I miss Robbie, so I wrote another fic. I really hope he makes another appearance this season, or that SHIELD gets renewed and he appears next season. 
> 
> Title from 'Trouble' by Cage the Elephant
> 
> My tumblr  
> https://modern-victoria.tumblr.com/

Robbie was stuck in the other dimension. His uncle a pile of ash and his only companion the devil himself, Robbie found himself completely alone in this dark dimension.

He doesn’t know how long it had been since he got here, but after some time he heard voices. First he thought he was crazy, maybe he had spent much longer time here than he originally thought. But then he saw glimpses of faces. The devil saw them too. He tried to focus on those faces and sounds. Maybe it was the real world trying to pull him back in. After a few tries he succeeded and became completely submerged by this other world.

Robbie sighed in relief. He was back. First he would go to Gabe. If he could make out where he was. He looked around, his feet taking him someplace. He walked towards a river, but he couldn’t understand what was in front of him: The Triskellion. He was sure it was destroyed a few years ago. He saw the destruction on the television himself. Maybe SHIELD had rebuild it and he had been gone for years. But then he noticed something else that wasn’t right. On the side of the building was a big emblem. Not SHIELD, but HYDRA. No, that couldn’t be right. What happened while he was gone? He stumbled a few steps backwards, right into someone else.

“Hey, watch out!” a gruff sounding voice warned. Robbie stammered an apology while turning around to look at the man. He didn’t expect to see a familiar face.

“Mack?” Robbie asked relieved, finally someone who could help him make sense of things.

Mack looked weirdly at him. “How do you know my brother?” He said defensively.

“What?” Robbie said confused.

“Alfie, come on! We’ll be late! Hope wants to see her grandparents.” Another voice sounded, belonging to a woman. She placed one hand on Mack’s- Alfie’s bicep. Her other hand clasped into the embrace of a smaller child. The Ghost Rider had seen this woman before, had heard the child’s name before, when it had taken over Mack’s body. Hope was dead. The woman was not the sad woman it had seen in Mack’s memories. This wasn’t Mack. This was another version of him. Robbie wasn’t back.

“I’m sorry, I must’ve mistaken you for someone else”, Robbie muttered and with that, left. The weight on his shoulders increasing. He wasn’t back.

\---

It seemed Gabe didn’t even exist in this world. After what had happened with Mack, Robbie went straight to Los Angeles only to find out everything he knew was gone. He went back to DC, hoping to find answers.

\---

It had been days since Robbie had come here. At least here, he had a sense of time. He still didn’t know what was worse, stuck in the other dimension with nothing or stuck in this world with everything he knew gone.

He saw her for the first time on the street. He was walking, his mind drifting to another world, where his brother was, where Daisy was, when he bumped into the latter. She stepped outside of a coffee shop and ran straight into him. He found himself bumping a lot into strangers, lately. She didn’t even spare a glance, but only mumbled a quiet apology and went back her own way. Since then, he stayed close to her. Not really sure why, but it’s not like he had anything better to do. After a week, he knew where she lived, where she got her coffee, where she worked… If he was being honest, he was acting like a creep, but he just wanted her safe, and close. His knee itching from where she touched him that time in the containment module.

It was a few days later. He was sitting on a bench on the ground floor of the Triskellion, in the public area. He was led here by Daisy, but he noticed May and Coulson walking inside this building too.

He liked waiting here and seeing all those people happily going about their lives. Catching glimpses of ghosts he once knew. It wasn’t rare for him to see Daisy walking into the building. But this time it was different. Her face wasn’t peaceful and calculated like he was used to seeing these last few days, but she wore a frantic expression. Her eyes darting around the room, as if looking for an escape. Her eyes locked on him. For a brief moment, Robbie thought - hoped she would finally see through this fake world. But hope has been something rare for him through all his life. But Robbie doesn’t know what happened. He doesn’t know Daisy and Jemma figured the LMD’s took their friends’ places. He doesn’t know they hacked their way into the Framework. Robbie doesn’t know he’s actually staring at Daisy. And she’s staring back. A thousand thoughts pass through her mind when seeing his face. Happiness, relief, but also fear. Fear that he’s just another binary code. That he’s just another trick this cruel world plays on her. From the other side of the room, Daisy saw Robbie opening his mouth as if to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out. She sighed in relief but her feet stayed planted firmly on the ground. He stood up from the bench. Luckily, his feet took him automatically to her, but it was too late. A man, he couldn’t see his face, showed up from behind her and snatched her arm. He led her to the elevator and Daisy followed suit. But not before casting a last glance at Robbie, a small smile forming on her lips.

\---

Robbie stays on the ground floor. He moves benches so his is now closer to the glass elevator. Every time the elevator doors ‘ding’ open, he jumps, expecting her to come out. That only happens the 34th time he hears the familiar sound, not that he’s been counting. He sees her, the same man from before walking beside her, too close for comfort and he can see her stiffness. She looks around until her eyes land on him. No, she wasn’t dreaming. He’s still there, and he looks worn and tired.

Robbie recognises this man. Flashes of memories of not so long ago, but it feels like an eternity, it feels like he doesn't know these people, when he and Daisy weren’t friends or whatever they are now, where she’s lying on the cold ground, her face pale and sweaty, and her body trembling to hold the shelf above her. Glimpses of her memories now come into his mind, when the Ghost Rider looked into her heart to find out it was pure ( he didn’t even need to, Robbie could tell from the grief in her eyes she was). Memories where the same man that’s walking beside her held her captive, strapped to a staircase, or kidnapped her, “in the name of love”. How dare they? How dare they put her with him. Robbie can feel his blood boiling with anger, at this man, Ward, he recalls, at this world, for putting Daisy with _him_. A part of him hopes that this Daisy is not his, that she hasn’t suffered through all the pain the other, the _real world_ , he reminds himself, put her through. But then he looks at her again and sees the desperation, the fear and sadness in her eyes, which strangely change into hope and relief when she looks at him. She knows, Robbie thinks, one way or another: she knows.

He stands up from his sitting position. Abruptly. He’s ready to wreak havoc on this whole world, if only he could stop the fear in her eyes (He doesn’t know when he started caring for her, but he strongly knows he does, and he will rather die again than let anything happen to her). But then she looks at him with pleading eyes, shaking her head slightly and mouths ‘No’, looking frantically around to see if anyone noticed. He understands. He’s in the Triskellion, what used to be SHIELD, but is now Hydra. All because Coulson didn’t join. Robbie nods to Daisy, a small smile on his face. Ward deserves to pay for his sins. He can feel it, the Rider can too. Just not now and he pushes the Rider back inside. He turns to walk away, but stops when he hears a loud noise behind him. Ward is dragging Daisy towards the exit, but she doesn’t listen. Instead pushes him away and shouting at him. She stomps on his foot. He hits her in the face. Leaving a cut on her upper lip, which she traces with her fingers. He shouldn’t have done that, Robbie knows what happens next. Daisy straightens out her arm and sends a pulse directly into Ward’s gut. He flies backwards and crashes into a nearby wall. Apparently he did deserve to pay for his sins right now. The surrounding people taking a step backwards.

“She’s an inhuman!” Robbie hears someone shout.

Robbie has seen the newspapers in this world, he knows inhumans are feared. Daisy takes advantage of the momentary confusion and makes a break for the exit. He feels his feet moving in sync with her, joining her to the exit. He shouts to her that he has a bike in this world, and leads her to his parked motorcycle right outside. He jumps onto it and feels Daisy’s arms sliding across his torso, gripping him tight and pulling her body flush against him.

They flee together. They ride and ride, and leave everything behind. They ride until it doesn’t seem like they’re in the Framework anymore. When the sunset feels real and the same as in the real world. And then they stop, because as much as they want to take a break, they both know they can’t and they have people to save and return to. They both step off Robbie’s motorcycle when they arrive at a roadside motel. Staying a few feet apart, they stand awkwardly in front of each other, not knowing what to say at this exact moment. They both choose to not say anything and run in each other’s arms instead. Daisy buries her nose in Robbie’s jacket and she wonders how she ever could’ve doubted, because he’s Robbie and he’s real. He smells of smoke and leather, and suddenly she adores that smell. Robbie tangles his hands in her hair, in this world longer and a few shades lighter than he’s used to, but it’s her and she’s in his arms and he doesn’t feel alone anymore. He knows together they’ll find a way to save their friends. He believes it as she tightens her grip around him and whispers his name. They’ll find a way, because they’ve both suffered enough in their lives to give up here.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!! I hope you liked it, kudos and comments are always appreciated ;)
> 
> Ps if I made any mistakes, English isn't my first language, but feel free to correct me nicely


End file.
